Randomised comparison of silicone gel and onion extract gel for post-surgical scars

To compare the efficacy of silicone gel and onion extract gel on new surgical wounds, we performed a randomised controlled trial evaluating the appearance of the laparoscopic surgical scars of 60 subjects after 12 weeks of two times daily application of either silicone gel or onion extract gel. Objective scar assessment by the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) and the Image Panel Scale (IPS) and subjective scar assessment by the Body Image Scale (BIS) and Cosmetic Scale (CS) were performed after 12 weeks of treatment. Safety was also evaluated by gathering adverse events related to application of the gel. After 12 weeks of applying the assigned gel, there were no differences between the two groups in VSS (p = .779), IPS (p = .621), BIS (p = .924), or CS (p = .843). Subject compliance and safety with the assigned gel was similar between the two study groups. Our conclusion was that silicone gel and onion extract gel had similar compliance, side effects and efficacy in making surgical scars less distinct. Impact Statement What is already known on this subject: There are commercially available, topical scar emollients for prevention of surgical scarring. Despite their popularity, data demonstrating the efficacy of these scar emollients are lacking. What do the results of this study add: After 12 weeks of applying the assigned topical scar emollients, there were no differences between the two groups in terms of cosmesis and satisfaction. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: Silicone gel and onion extract gel had similar compliance, side effects and efficacy in making surgical scars less distinct.